The campers enjoyed a relaxing start to the day as Reveille sounded an hour later than usual in honor of the Lazy Man’s Sunday Morning schedule, and the boys made their way leisurely to the breakfast buffet. The rookies departed after having a fabulous weekend. We had a Father-Son Weekend meeting for those boys who will be staying after camp with their fathers for a special post-camp weekend.
Our Subseniors unpacked their bags from last week’s trips golfing, to Acadia National Park, and canoeing down the Saint Croix River, and repacked for their five-day trip to Canada, which departs after breakfast tomorrow morning. The daily check-ins from our Okees out west indicate that our boys are having a blast and cannot believe that the trip they have been looking forward to their entire camp career is coming to an end.
The Takajo campers who have family members at Tripp Lake Camp and Camp Robindel had the opportunity to visit with their female counterparts one last time today and loved the reconnection and quality time with family.
This evening, the entire camp came together in Takajo’s MJG Playhouse for the Junior Big Show, Wizard of Oz. What is intriguing to me is that some boys are known within their age division for their athletic prowess, but it’s our thespians who become well-known at their craft by the entire camp because we all come together to witness their performances as a camp community. Our Juniors did not disappoint. Our pre-adolescent boys sang beautifully and had no issues hitting the high notes.
I was amazed at their stage presence, their ability to know their lines, and their professional delivery. I have commented that very often the anticipation of an event causes us our greatest stress. However, once we get to the other side of the event, it produces our happiest moments. Tonight was no exception. I could see the nervous anticipation on the faces of our fifth- and sixth-grade boys during the meal, yet I witnessed beaming smiles and a sense of pure joy as they took their bows at the end of the performance.
Camp creates the perfect environment for creating these moments for our boys and with each accomplishment, our boys gain more confidence and the desire to take on new challenges. While we were all entertained by our Juniors, the true winners were the boys who tried out for the play and came together through hard work and dedication to provide a memorable evening for all to enjoy.
